By Charles Onyeishi Chidiebere
The awakened interest of many Nigerian youths in the affairs of the state today shows that the youths are no longer asleep. If anything, they are not lazy to participate in, and make their voices heard in the politics and governance of the country.
Young Nigerians of today have borrowed and practicalised what John Lewis, former Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and member of the US House of Reps, dubbed “good trouble”—fearless agitation designed to provoke, challenge, and move progress forward. Their keen attention, participation and anticipation in the build-up to the presidential primaries is an evidence to the fact that they are now, more than ever, interested in who leads the country beyond 2023.
One would wonder what stirred this level of youth interest and participation, one which is seen for the first time since 1999. It is no mistake to say that in some way, this interest was aroused by the EndSARS protest/movement where the youths decided to protest against the high-handedness and inhumanity of the Nigeria police force towards them. The protest later culminated in calls for better representation, an end to corruption and nepotism, focus on economic prosperity, security, respect for democratic ideals, among others.
What many people thought was merely an online protest would later grow into both an online and offline demonstration that saw youths in their numbers come out to protest against police brutality and bad governance. That step helped to change and reshape the minds of the young people that being indifferent and sitting back with their phones would create no good. They realised that nothing will be handed to them on a platter unless they stand together and demand it.
Although the protest was forced to an abrupt end and hopes were crushed, albeit not completely, the resolve remained. The anger turned into an avenue to rejuvenate direction and hope, which appears to be the driving force for increased youth voter registration and political participation in recent weeks.
Also, the worsening state of the country’s security, economy and education has fuelled the youths’ interest in state affairs. For instance, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike since March 14, 2022. This has kept Nigerian students, basically youths, from their studies.
The Federal Government has continued to renege on its agreement to implement the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with the union in December 2020. The memorandum bordered on the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), funding for revitalization of public universities (both federal and states), proliferation and governance issues in state universities, promotion arrears, withheld salaries (owed for over 20 months in some cases), and non-remittance of third-party deductions.
The paralyzed state of the country’s economy, security and education have contributed a great deal to the daunting poverty index of the country. According to a World Bank report, the number of poor people in Nigeria will climb to 95.1 million by 2022, up from the 89.0 million poor people reported in 2020.
The required jobs to combat poverty are not available as a lot of able-bodied people are not gainfully employed. Agusto and Co., a credit rating agency reported that unemployment rate was at 35% in 2021 while underemployment stood at 23%. Poverty and unemployment make it easy for people to be willing tools in the hands of corrupt political leaders who use them to rig elections and cause mayhem in the society. Not only that, many citizens are left with no choice other than selling their votes for peanuts on election days; a clear example is the incidence of vote-buying in the just concluded Ekiti State governorship election and other elections in Nigeria.
Many youths have come to see that corrupt leaders who use them on election day end up dumping them to suffer for the next four to eight years. It is therefore, not surprising to see that young people in the country organised a million-man match for one of the presidential candidates, Mr Peter Obi, who has endeared himself to the youths. The march was successful and served as a strong statement regarding the youths’ participation in the forthcoming general elections.
Although Mr Peter Obi dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for a little-known Labour Party (LP), he still enjoys the goodwill and support of the youths who seem to have taken over his campaign and are volunteering to create visibility and more involvement in the Labour Party. They also have intensified efforts towards voters’ registration, sensitization and mobilization, consequently raising alarm when the INEC officials acted funny. Today, youths account for 4,856,555 out of 10,487,972 newly registered voters, an indication that youths are seriously involved in electing a competent and young leader who will consider their interests and that of the country above personal and selfish interests, in 2023 and beyond.
This has not always been the case. In fact, before now, many youths were uninterested in the way the country is run as long as they could afford to live good lives and pursue better opportunities outside the country. The height of it came in 2020 when an unfortunate event, which the Lagos State Judicial Commission of Inquiry adjudged to be a massacre, happened at the Lekki toll gate. That incident left many young Nigerians dejected, mournful and devoid of any hope in the current administration, and by extension, the country itself. The stark uncertainty during that period caused young Nigerians to leave the country in droves in pursuit of advanced studies, better lives and a functional system. Professionals joined the wagon as well, and this led to a massive brain drain in critical sectors in the country, particularly in the health sector.
It is, however, interesting and intriguing that barely two years after that incident, a lot of youths have recovered and swung into action. Today, both those who travelled abroad and their counterparts still in Nigeria are aggressively demanding a better and functional Nigeria free from the shackles of the “old guards” who have badly mismanaged the economy and have proven to be incapable of decisively tackling insecurity.
Little wonder third force candidates like Mr Chukwuka Monye and Prof. Kingsley Moghalu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, all enjoyed the goodwill and support of youths especially on social media. Although there has been mobilization in different states for Peter Obi and the Labour Party, and a possible alliance with the NNPP, it remains to be seen if this support would translate to real votes or will end as mere sensationalism.
To be fair, one should commend the sheer intelligence, enthusiasm and resilience of the youths. But then, the fundamental question remains: how much pressure will they be willing to take in, in the eight months leading to the 2023 general elections? Battling against well-established politicians and political parties with deep pockets and years of political experience will not be an easy task. It is even scarier to think that a vast majority of young people believe that 2023 is the only time they have to get it right, having wasted seven to eight years in an administration that cared less about them and the country – an administration that sits by and allows security personnel to illegally arrest and brutalize young people, freezes their bank accounts and blacklists crypto currency transactions.
It is dreadful to imagine how bleak the future of the youths will be should the “old guards” triumph in 2023. These are youths who have been consistently called the “Leaders of Tomorrow” for the past 15-20 years of their lives. What will happen then? Will they delve into crime, drown in economic ruin, become slaves to political paymasters, or seek mass migration opportunities for those who can afford that?
Undoubtedly, next year’s general elections are touted as the bridge between the Nigeria we are used to and the Nigeria we yearn for. Only time will tell if hopes will be revived or crushed. Whichever way, we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
Chidiebere is a policy analyst at SBM Intelligence
